Neil Marshall returns to his indie horror roots with The Reckoning, a tale of violent witch hunts during the bubonic plague. It stars Marshall’s partner, Charlotte Kirk, as Grace, a headstrong young mother who, after losing her husband to the black death, finds herself the object of her landlord’s affections. After she spurns his advances, he brands her a witch and takes her into custody. He then calls in the WitchFinder, General Moorcroft (Sean Pertwee), a man with whom Grace shares a dark past, and things take a deadly turn…
Shot last year, and written earlier still, it’s hard not to watch The Reckoning and see our own current society reflected back at us. There’s the obvious plague setting, but the witch hunt element is especially relevant. We live in a world of ‘cancel culture’ where the slightest perceived misdoing can ruin you, we also live in a mob mentality society where some people will get behind an idea even if there is no shred of genuine proof. When you think about it, we’ve really not progressed as a society all that far since the dark ages. Within this world, Marshall can explore these issues and opens up a dialogue for the audience to commune with.
The look and feel of the film is suitably grim, and the film houses Marshalls brand of violence perfectly. There are sinister plague doctors that stalk around, complicated torture contraptions and a memorable take on the devil. Held together by a committed performance from Kirk and a strong ensemble, The Reckoning is easily Marshall’s best film in years.
After his jaunt across television, directing episodes of Game of Thrones, Hannibal, Westworld, and most recently Lost in Space, as well as the ill-received Hellboy reboot, it’s lovely to finally see Marshall back doing what he does best. Both Dog Soldiers and The Descent are landmark entries into British horror films. They were also his first two feature films, which is an achievement beyond impressive. With such a strong opening to his career, it was inevitable that there would be a bit of a slump, but with The Reckoning, Marshall asserts himself as someone that still has plenty more to say on the big screen.
The Reckoning was reviewed at Arrow Video Frightfest Halloween.
The Reckoning
Summary
A welcome return to the horror fold, Neil Marshall once more proves himself to be a talented and articulate filmmaker.
